Blackboard Thoughts
by K-E-J Strawberry
Summary: Based on SD Gundam Sangokuden BB Senshi/Brave Battle Warriors. Basically Kan-U's thoughts on the events of each episode he, Ryuubi, and Chouhi are in.


A/N: Okay…First fan fiction to be posted on FF. Basically it's just Kan-u reflecting on the events of episode 2 and his new allies. I (think) I'll make this into a little series based on each episode the sworn brothers appear in, so if I do pull through with that I'll skip over episodes not featuring them, like episode 4, episode 6...Anyway, enjoy, or not, but please leave me a review telling what you think of it either way. Thank you.

It was night, the world consumed by black darkness, save for one small clearing within a ridge top forest. A modest campfire had been lit, fed by scavenged broken branches and

dry twigs, and it warded off the cold obscurity and blinding shadows and bathing the three figures around it in a warm orange glow. Although it was the brightest and most practical light source, it wasn't the kind one of the trio received the most comfort in.

Feeling unaccustomedly not alone, Kan-u gazed up through the branches of the tree he leaned against, eyes methodically tracing over each star as if to memorize them all, be able to map them out within his mind. That was, of course, not what he was doing-after all, if he was able to accomplish that feat then what would he do the next night? Or the night after that? Looking at stars he could envision in his head even during daylight hours would lack the attraction it currently held. No, he was only indulging in a busying habit that he had developed over the years, one he partook in at the end of the day when he had nothing more to do and nothing more to think about, or simply nothing he _wanted_ to think about.

Tonight, though, he found himself occupied with something else. His deep brown eyes, turned auburn in the radiance of the fire, would periodically break their fixation on the otherworldly lights above and glance down at the other two residing in the clearing.

Chouhi and Ryuubi, the two he had so unexpectedly met earlier that very same day, lay on the forest floor, soundly asleep. When it was dusk Kan-u had voiced that it was beginning to become to dark to continue on safely, and Chouhi, the louder of his two new acquaintances, took the opportunity to decide for them all that they were going to camp out here. Later, after they had successfully made a fire, the brash loudmouth fell asleep remarkably fast, and was now softly snoring. Kan-u briefly wondered if he could ever be quiet. Not that he minded how vocal he was, in fact the bearded one actually liked having someone to talk to. For the most part.

The other, Chouhi's "follower", Ryuubi, silently slept, curled up under a tree. While Chouhi deliberately fell asleep almost instantaneously, he sat down under a tree much like Kan-u did, and plopped the rations down beside him. He had tried to wish the red form laying carelessly on its side (otherwise know as Chouhi) some good sleep, and was shocked to find that it was completely, genuinely out of contact with the rest of the world, not just pretending to be asleep.

The guan dao user turned his head back up to the stars, but did not look at them for more than a moment before closing his eyes. He remembered well what they had both said about the sleeping figure not too long ago…not that he needed to know, Kan-u thought with amusement.

Ryuubi had just finished sitting himself down when he turned to Chouhi, smiled and said, "Goodnight!" He paused for a beat, blinked, and tried again, "Chouhi? Goodnight?" He waited for a reply, and when none came he shuffled over to the other, leaning in over him.

"Chouhi…?"

That was when they both noticed the snoring.

Ryuubi fell over backwards in disbelief, and when he pushed himself back up pointed an astonished finger at the source of it. "A-Are you kidding me? No one falls asleep that fast!"

Kan-u had laughed, the only other one awake turning to look at him, and he recalled saying, "Except for him it appears." Both then laughed, louder, amused by the situation. Ryuubi bashfully rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed by his outburst, and scooted back against the tree.

"Hah, you're right…" He had quickly gotten over his own embarrassment when he laughed out, "Well, if the Yellow Turbans can be slept into defeat we'll have nothing to worry about!" Kan-u agreed, and younger then continued on, faking annoyance. "I mean, that had to have been natural! He couldn't have passed out from exhaustion, after all, he made me carry our rations! I should be the one sleeping! Some boss he is…

After that Kan-u had smirked a little and pointed out what was wrong with those complaints, "If you are so tired, why are you not sleeping? He's not so bad of a boss as to prevent you from doing so, and you could have at least started to fall asleep at the same time as he."

Ryuubi gave him a look, one with a little bit of real annoyance as well as some badly hidden embarrassment. In all of good humor Kan-u had laughed a little more at the other's expense, and then he did something that led to an entirely new discussion, which Ryuubi was thankful of, and Chouhi would have been as well had he been aware of what was going on. Kan-u opened his eyes to the stars, but didn't study them so intensely. Instead, he merely observed them as if they were an illustration in a book, one which aids the reader in visualizing what is happening but isn't necessary to read the story, one which a person looks at simply because they enjoy looking at it as they read the story.

With his eyes still open he next recalled how Ryuubi took curious notice of his glimpse up at the stars. He then, probably in an attempt to get to know the one he was staying up with better, asked him a question that was simple, but for some reason difficult to answer for Kan-u.

"Do you like looking at the stars?"

He balked, attempted to say something only to have to pause and search for words, and found himself unable to come up with any. He had expected Ryuubi to wonder about his pause, to try to determine why it was so hard for him to come up with an answer, but he seemed to neither mind nor feel it was something to call into question. The only thing he did was smile and ask another, one Kan-u could answer, although it was arguably more deceptive about its difficulty than the one that came before it.

Even though Kan-u was looking away at the ground, he was still capable of noticing the timid smile in the boy's voice as he more softly asked, "Can I look at them with you?"

Upon hearing it, Kan-u had known, even if the one who was asking it didn't, that it was subliminally asking more than just that. It was also trying to determine if Kan-u would accept the other's company, if he liked him. If they could be friends. And although those should have needed to be carefully thought out, each possible outcome of each possible result meticulously calculated he found himself in no obligation to do so. He also then found out the reason why he had no obligation to think about what he should say, and that was that he already knew the right words to say. He, without hesitation, said only two words which held an entire future upon them, and those words were, "Yes, Ryuubi."

The apprehension in Ryuubi's demeanor had then vanished, and was replaced by positive confidence as well as a hint of relief. It was clear that had been the answer he had been hoping for, and he let out a small laugh and said, "Thanks!"

Once those words had been exchanged the atmosphere had cleared as if an new, incoming breeze had blown away what formalities or anything else that still separated them. Both had smiled, and looked up into the night sky to watch the stars above together. As they did, Kan-u came to the conclusion that he did like looking at the stars, at least when he had company. That was something he wished he had right now, as he turned his head down to the earth. Ryuubi had fallen asleep watching the stars, eventually sliding down the trunk of the tree and being to tired to push himself back up simply stayed slumped against it, leading to his current position against it.

Ryuubi's sword, which seemed to hold a special power, was still secured against his back, and the light reflecting off it emanating from the fire caused Kan-u to squint. It couldn't help but remind the one looking upon it of the light it gave off earlier that day, and just how surprising its owner was.

He had, to Kan-u and Chouhi's immense shock, appeared out of nowhere in the rain and ran straight into the warring path of Chouhi and himself, screaming for them to stop fighting. The boy's attempt at making peace could have cost him his life, but luckily Kan-u and Chouhi were both able to pull their attacks enough so that instead of being sliced in two he was sent spinning up into the grey sky, subsequently falling back down and landing splayed out on his back in a rather undignified position. Kan-u didn't really know what to make of him at that point, he was more concerned if he was alright. Chouhi, though, thought he was a bit of an idiot for jumping between two fighters, and the elder found himself in slight agreement with him, but in kinder terms.

Both of their opinions changed when the youngest of the Yellow Turban Leaders, Chouryo, attacked Chouhi's village. After scarfing down his rice balls Ryuubi had rushed into battle along with the two "more competent" warriors, and soon proved he could do much, much more than simply hold his own in a fight. When Chouryo charged at him from behind, and Kan-u was certain the youth wouldn't be able to guard himself in time, he did, and sent the villain flying unexpectedly far. But what was truly unexpected was the power his golden sword began releasing, and how, in a burst of golden light, it _changed_, a dragon shinning with the brilliant blue-white power of a star surrounding it as it did so, and then, when he unleashed that power on the youngest of the Chou trio…

Kan-u had been deeply impressed by the power he displayed-Chouhi, not so much. The red-armored one seemed to be too caught up in his own fight to notice the strength Ryuubi had displayed…or just in how strong he perceived himself to be. It probably was a combination of both-the lightning user certainly did hold himself high, but he also seemed naïve to the magnificent way in which the sword Ryuubi held changed. Despite his doubts in his new friend's power, he allowed him to come along with them on their journey to destroy the Yellow Turbans. Even if it was only to carry their rations for the trip.

After that, Chouhi passing the duty off to Ryuubi and naming himself the sword-wielder's boss, the newly formed group of three set off, laughing…except for the one who had been bestowed the duty of carrying the food without his consent. He lagged behind, incredulous that he'd been given such a chore.

Ending on that not so distant memory, Kan-u glanced up, then quickly back down. He just didn't feel like looking at the stars right now. His thoughts wandered elsewhere, eventually resting, along with his eyes, on Chouhi.

It was rather ironic, when Kan-u thought back upon it, that the two's first encounter was as enemies. Just as ironic was how Chouhi, who took action to start them off as enemies, also made the first move in befriending the one he mistook for a member of the Yellow Turbans.

When the two of them had rushed over to Ryuubi's prone form after he had been hit by their weapons and discovered he had been knocked out by the impact with the ground Chouhi and Kan-u were both at a bit of a loss of what to do with him, but they were really more unsure of what to make of each other. There was an awkward pause of silence before Chouhi turned toward Kan-u and glared.

"You! You bastard Yellow Turban, you'll pay for that!" He got into a fighting stance and put his weapon out before him, small arcs of lightning coming off of it. Kan-u didn't understand the accusation at first, but then realized their entire fight had just been a misunderstanding. None the less, he still raised his own weapon, but not threateningly, just enough to guard himself if the other decided to pull through with his threat, which Kan-u was sure he planned on doing.

Just as he felt, Chouhi did, and swung at him forcefully. The blade was blocked, caught in the top notch of the blade of Kan-u's own weapon. Chouhi had tried to pull away to free his weapon, but wasn't able to. Kan-u, however, wasn't either, and the two were locked in a stalemate.

That was what Kan-u had been waiting for, and he used it to shout, "I am not a member of the Yellow Turbans!" as he strained to keep Chouhi from freeing his blade.

Chouhi's face dropped. "Uh, what?" He finally succeeded in pulling his blade away, and pointed it towards Kan-u, but in a way not nearly as threatening as before. "You're not?"

Kan-u shook his head, "No."

There was another period of silence before Chouhi nervously laughed and pulled his weapon away. "Heh heh…Well then, sorry about that…I though you were one, because I heard that they'd been seen around here, so I went out to find them, and, well, I saw you…"

"And?" Kan-u asked, somewhat exasperated. He had already brought his guan dao back to his side, and thought, _"Whoever this person is_, _he seems rather…rash."_

Chouhi, his name unknown still at the time, scratched the side of his head and looked down. "You were here…and the Yellow Turbans were supposed to be here, so, you know, I…"

"So you just assumed that I was one of them before recklessly attacking me," Kan-u frowned.

Although Chouhi knew what Kan-u said was right, he frowned and muttered, "Well, you did look suspicious…" He looked back up towards Kan-u, indignant. "I mean, the way you have your crest down, it looks like some sort of creepy mask. You really did look like a bandit or something!"

Said crest was then pushed up, and the one who wore it asked, "So, if I looked like this you'd have been more civil?"

There was short pause as Chouhi thought, before he answered, "Well, I'd have probably asked if you were one first…" By then he had realized that the one he attacked was not real pleased with him, and he smiled.

"Well, sorry for attacking you, I guess." Chouhi shrugged, brushing their whole fight off as if it wasn't something to get angry over.

That wasn't exactly the case for Kan-u, who was not quite satisfied with the lackadaisical apology. _"You guess?"_ he had tiredly thought.

A small groan was then heard from the unconscious boy, and that was what brought their attention back to Ryuubi.

"Aw, man!" Chouhi exclaimed, "I completely forgot about him!"

Kan-u didn't think any less of him for that-he had as well. "It would be wrong to just leave him here. We, after all, were the ones that put him in such a state."

Huffing a bit, Chouhi complained, "Well, he was the one who ran in between us like an idio-"

Before he could finish Kan-u smacked him on the side of the head, annoyed with his behavior. Ignoring the other's whine about how undeserved that was he said, "Don't be so rude. The same recklessness can be found in your own actions."

Upset by the accusation Chouhi yelled, "Yeah, well, you know what-!" He stopped abruptly, blinked, the sheepishly asked, "Uh, what's your name?"

Kan-u, realizing that they had yet to introduce themselves, responded with, "My name is Kan-u. And yours?"

"I'm Chouhi!" The response had been given cheerfully, and it seemed as if he had completely forgotten about the anger he had only a moment ago. That was confirmed when he started up again. "And yeah, I guess you're right, we shouldn't leave him here."

"We should get out of the rain." Looking around Kan-u asked, "Did you come from a near by village?"

Chouhi nodded, "Yeah, _my_ village. Let's take him back there." He then poked Ryuubi with the bottom of his staff, searching for a reaction that never came. "Well, looks like someone's going to have to carry him." There was a short pause before Chouhi, who, Kan-u now thought, seemed to have an aversion to carrying things turned to Kan-u and said, "You want to do it?"

Thinking over the past events of the day Kan-u felt a smile appear on his face. Although there had been serious and dangerous moments there still had been lighthearted ones. All three had managed to smile and laugh despite the more misfortunate events, and Kan-u had to admit that he had enjoyed the boastful antics of Chouhi and Ryuubi's occasional childishness. Both were still young, after all, such behavior was to be expected. What Kan-u hadn't been expecting was that he would like their company so much.

It wasn't something he ever imagined happening when he first woke up, but today he had encountered people he was proud to call his allies. Even call them his friends. That, although so mundane to many other people, was something Kan-u hadn't been able to do for a long time. And he really, truly appreciated it-appreciated _them_. Both were strong fighters who used justice as their moral compass, but even more than that Kan-u appreciated another quality they both had. It was that they, even when faced with danger and having experienced sadness, still were able to enjoy life.

He closed his eyes, slowly, smile still gracing his face.

A/N: Yes, another, please forgive me. Just a couple notes on what I wrote-

1. The youngest of the Chou brothers, also known as Zhang Liang in the way it's translated from the Chinese saying of it, has the exact same name, even the same spelling, as Zhang Liao, the one who works for Ryofu. Simply because I feel the need to differentiate between the two, the Yellow Turban leader is "Chouryo", while the one who serves Ryofu is "Chouryou".

2. According to Wikipedia Guan Yu's weapon is a guan dao, so that's what I'm going to call Kan-u's.


End file.
